Bogey-free Tway leads Memorial

DUBLIN, Ohio -- Two years of rain-delayed runaways by Tiger Woods are over, not to mention his quest for a fourth straight victory in the Memorial Tournament.

The stage now shifts to Bob Tway, the 43-year-old Oklahoman and former PGA champion who walked the line between aggressive shots and disastrous results and positioned himself for his first victory in seven years.

"It would be a big boost for my confidence," Tway said.

Playing bogey-free while other contenders succumbed to mistakes on the back nine Saturday at Muirfield Village Golf Club, Tway had a 4-under 68 to emerge from the pack and take a one-stroke lead over Stewart Cink into the final round.

Five players had a share of the lead at one point until Tway birdied No. 17 from 15 feet to finish at 12-under 204, the first time he has had at least a share of the 54-hole lead since the Disney Classic three years ago.

Cink could have joined him, but missed a 3-foot par putt on the final hole, which he attributed to a gust of wind that hit him as he was taking the putter back.

"I've got a lot of surface area here for the wind to hit," said the 6-foot-4 Cink.

Justin Leonard, the 36-hole leader, was around the top of the board all afternoon until two bogeys on the back nine dropped him back to 206 and an even-par 72.

"The thing I have to remember is I'm still in the golf tournament," Leonard said.

Vijay Singh also was tied at one point and only two strokes back until he drove into a creek on the final hole and took double bogey. He shot a 72 and was four strokes behind.

"On this golf course, it's a fine line between good and bad," Tway said. "I didn't make a bogey, so that's good. If I do that tomorrow, I'll feel good about it."

Tway has won only two times since he captured the Memorial in 1989, so long ago that Woods was only 14, still in junior high school.

Not much has changed. Tway is closing in on a victory at Muirfield, and Woods again is nowhere to be found.

Trying to become the first player in 75 years to win the same event four straight years, Woods had to settle for an even-par 72 -- 16 pars, one bogey and his only birdie coming on a tee shot at the par-3 eighth hole that ricocheted off a tree and onto the green. He finished at 216, a dozen strokes out of the lead in a tie for 56th.

"I tried as hard as I possibly could this week," he said. "It just didn't come together."

Another streak is in jeopardy for Woods. He has finished in the top 30 in the last 59 stroke-play events on the PGA Tour, dating to his tie for 56th in the Bay Hill Invitational three years ago.

Not many would have guessed at the beginning of the week that Woods, the three-time defending champion at the Memorial, would be under par for only nine of the first 54 holes played at Muirfield Village, or that he would be so far back in the pack.

The biggest surprise was that he was tied with 62-year-old Jack Nicklaus.

Nicklaus, playing on the PGA Tour for the first time since last year's Memorial, played a solid round of 1-under 71, finishing with a birdie on the 18th hole for a cheer that could be heard four holes away.

"The course is going to play fairly easy," Nicklaus said. "It has to be if I shot 71."

It wasn't that way for some guys who are more than half his age.

Sergio Garcia made a quadruple-bogey 9 on No. 5 and wound up with a 77. The real hard-luck story was Harrison Frazar -- again.

Two years ago, he was one stroke out of the lead going into the third round and shot a 78 while paired with Woods, a round that haunted him the rest of the season.

This time, he was one behind former Texas roommate Justin Leonard, and the results were only slightly better. Frazar was tied for the lead until making three straight bogeys, and he wound up with a 75.

While the last two Memorials have been runaways in the rain -- Woods won by seven and five strokes -- this year is nicely positioned for a shootout in the sunshine.

Rain soaked Muirfield early and allowed for some great scores. John Cook, who lived at Muirfield while playing at Ohio State, had a 65 and was at 207, tied with Shigeki Maruyama (67) and Skip Kendall (68).

Twelve players were within five shots of the lead, including Phil Mickelson at 209.

Tway hasn't played in the final group since he was tied with Woods at the 1999 Disney Classic. Tway closed with a 76 and finished three behind Woods.

This was only the fifth time in his career that he has had at least a share of the 54-hole lead, although he is loaded with confidence. He has made only three bogeys all week on a Muirfield course that comes with a stiff penalty for errant shots.

He also took notice of last week, when 45-year-old Nick Price won at Colonial.

Tway is 43 and was asked to join the proposed Major Champions Tour. He declined, not willing to give up his PGA Tour membership.